Athens: Jitender Kumar's Olympic hopes came crashing down today (Aug 15, 2004) as he lost his 81kg bout to Ukraine's Andriy Fedchuck under unfortunate circumstances in Athens.

Jitender was trailing 11-12 when a left-handed jab by the Ukrainian in the dying seconds of the second round left a deep cut on the Indian's nose forcing the referee to consult the ring doctor, who asked the contest to be stopped.

Jitender appeared impressive in his close to four minutes in the ring, during which he attacked his rival with some powerful punches.

Fedchuck surged ahead as soon as the match progressed, going to the second round with a slender one-point lead at 5-4. But, Jitender bounced back to move ahead to 9-7 and then 11-10 before the left-handed jab did him in.